Enigma to Paramour
by half-goddess-Katia
Summary: Xellos is a prince, Lina is a princess. Both are forced into an engagement with each other and neither is happy. What happens when they meet before they know who the other is. XelLina pairing. Rating may go up later because of cursing.
1. Princess's Reaction

Princess's Reaction  
  
AN: Yes, I know I should be working on "Two Souls Fated to Meet", but I had this idea pop into my head when watching Slayers the other day. I'm not sure where it came from, but here it is. Also, this will be Xellos/Lina fic. As well as an AU fic. Also, for story purposes, Lina's sister Luna doesn't exist here.  
  
Also, if ANY ONE has ANY idea on how to do italics on a Microsoft Word document and get it to transfer onto ff.net please, please tell me. I'll be forever in your debt.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the Slayers characters, just the plot I put them in.  
  
It was a peaceful morning in the kingdom Rohain. Note the past tense was. And it had been, until the king and queen Inverse gave their daughter Lina Inverse a bit of shocking news.  
  
"What do you mean I have to get married?!" the princess, Lina Inverse, shouted at her parents. The servants just continued about their morning tasks as if this was an everyday occurrence, and, because of Lina's infamous temper, it was.  
  
"The laws state that you have to have to be married at the age of sixteen and your sixteenth birthday is coming up." Thomas Inverse said to his red head daughter.  
  
"He's right honey." The red haired queen Lana Inverse said. Neither of these statements did anything to dent the red-eyed, red-haired, vertically challenged princess's anger.  
  
"I don't give damn about the stupid law! This is marriage! I refuse to marry some stranger!" Lina said. The young sorceress felt like she needed to vent some of her anger on something.  
  
"Lina, language." Her green-eyed mother admonished.  
  
"He'll be coming to stay here tonight. He will be introduced next week at the ball, and I will brook no arguments." Her, also, red-eyed father said.  
  
The young princess stormed out of the living room (not sure what they called it back then) and out to the courtyard. 'I can't BELIEVE that they're trying to make me get married. I REALLY need to vent some frustration before I destroy the castle itself.  
  
She made her way to the practice ring, which had been especially made for magically training. The walls were made from orihalcon stone. She quickly changed from her dress into a pair of training breeches and a white blouse.  
  
Lina stood opposite a large stone slab that had been dragged there last week under orders from her parents, probably just for the purpose she was about to use it for. She began chanting the spell for her third strongest attack, knowing she couldn't use the other two as they may very well destroy the world if used incorrectly. These other two are called the Giga Slave, the strongest, and the Ragna Blade, the second strongest. Though she also knew the Ra Tilt from shamanist magic. Suffice to say that she was the sorcery genius that she proclaimed herself to be, at times when she need to, and that she may very well have been the most powerful sorcerer or sorceress alive.  
  
"Darkness beyond twilight,  
  
Crimson beyond blood that flows.  
  
Buried in the stream of time,  
  
Is where your power grows.  
  
I pledge myself to conquer  
  
All the foes who stand  
  
Against the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy hand.  
  
Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed by the power you and I posses!  
  
DRAGON SLAVE!"  
  
The huge, marble slab was utterly obliterated and the wall behind it, as protected as it was from being damaged by magic, was also cracked and dented. Normally that wouldn't happen, but the princess was currently very ticked off. And to think that that slab had been about 15 feet thick and 20 feet tall. Despite all of this Lina was still very angry, though not quite as much as before.  
  
"I needed that." Lina proclaimed to the empty training court. She went and sat on a bench near the changing room's door. 'I still can't believe that my parents would allow me to be engaged, much less married, at the age of 15. I think I'll get out of the castle for today, who knows what I'll do if I see either of my parents right now.'  
  
That decided Lina went into the changing room and changed back into her dress. She ran back across the courtyard and into the castle. She silently raced up to her room, careful to be sure that none of the guards saw her. When she reached her room she changed into a maroon tunic shirt, maroon pants with two leather belts, white gloves that reached her elbows and had jewels on the cuff, a yellow band around her chest, a black head band and cape-the cape had shoulder guards-, and finally a pair of almost knee-high boots with jewels on their cuff as well. Her outfit was finished by attaching a sword to the back of her looser leather belt and clipping in a pair of golden looking ball earrings. All in all she look like she normally does on the series. She had bought this outfit not too long ago when her last pair of clothes had become a little to short in the leg. She wore these and but her hair up in a braid so she wouldn't be noticed as easily.  
  
Normally her red hair and eyes were a dead give away, so she'd learned to use a hat to cover the top half of her face in shadows. She'd done this many times before and had only been caught once when she was little, the first time she had snuck out. Occasionally the guards would spot her and give chase, but she had always managed to out maneuver them and her parents never found out that it was she as the guards could never be sure. They just saw a almost flat-chested, red-haired girl running out of the castle.  
  
Lina slowly walked out of the castle, careful to keep to the shadows as much as possible. She knew that if her family found out she would be in way too much trouble, her blouse and pants would be taken away, and she would be under much closer guard. Thus it would be almost impossible to sneak out. She made it outside the castle without being spotted, now came the tricky part. She stood in the shadows and quietly cast the levitation spell. She made herself rise higher and higher then soared over the guards and walls surrounding the castle. She found her usual spot in the woods outside her house and discreetly landed.  
  
Lina walked casually out of the woods and onto the busy road where she quickly blended into the crowd. Unfortunately for her, she hadn't been quite as discreet as she'd thought. She heard one of the guards give yell obviously about her since it mentioned a small girl with red hair. She quickly raced along the road toward the market place. Lina dodged in between people, animals, and stalls. She used back alleys and ran into the busy center of the city where she felt sure she would b lost. Obviously the guards had gotten smarter as they managed to keep up with her the whole way through. She ran down another alley and, looking over her shoulder, straight into a person. When she looked over at the person she had collided with she was met with a startling pain of amethyst eyes in a face framed by purple, shoulder-length hair.  
  
AN: Want to see what everyone looks like? Go to the following site, I think it's pretty good. 


	2. Prince's Reaction

Prince's Reaction  
  
AN: Again I apologize if anyone is out of character, but I have not even seen all of the Slayers Next series, much less the Try series. I'm only going by what I've seen and read. I am going to use someone other than Zelas for Xellos's mother, sorry for the inconvenience. Also, Xellos is a sorcerer, but not a monster.  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. The Slayers characters belong to their original owner.  
  
Prince Xellos Metallium had been traveling with his mother for the past week, slowly heading toward the kingdom of Rohain. He still hadn't gotten a reason why, though they had arrived that day. Unknown to them, it was the same day that Princess Lina found out about her engagement. Xellos walked into his mother's room in the inn they had stayed in that night.  
  
"You called for me mother?" The purple haired sorcerer asked.  
  
"Yes, Xellos. I know you've been wondering why we're here, correct?" The purple haired queen said. Her long purple hair was pulled back in a braid that reached the waist of her dark green, gold embroidered dress. Her green eyes looked into her son's crescent, smiling eyes. (Like this: ^__^)  
  
"Yes I have." Xellos said. His seemingly eternal smile was still on his purple-hair framed face. His purple hair reached down to the shoulders of his black shirt that accompanied his black silk trousers.  
  
"Well, you're 17 now and it's about time, according to the council, that you find a fiancée. We have done so. The princess of this kingdom is to be your wife right after her birthday next week. That is when you'll be introduced to each other." Queen Zalina said to her son.  
  
"Fiancée? Wife? What do you mean?" Xellos said. His seemingly eternal smile was slipping, his amethyst eyes were opening, and were looking directly in his mother's green ones.  
  
"I mean, you are to be introduced to your future wife exactly one week from now, on her sixteenth birthday." Queen Metallium said, her voice clearly brooking no arguments. "I suggest that you explore this town as you will be staying here for at least the next month."  
  
"Yes, mother" Xellos said, his eyes snapping closed in his traditional face. He slowly walked out of her room and went to his.  
  
'Married! Damn. For all I know that princess could be just like every other air headed princess I've met so far!' Xellos thought. 'And I'm supposed to live with her!'  
  
Xellos changed into black pants and a beige shirt with a pair of white gloves and back cape. All in all he looked just like he does in the actual episodes He took some money and his wooden staff with the red jewel on top and decided that going out into the city was a good idea. He had decided to go into the city after all, it might let him calm down before he saw his mother again.  
  
Xellos descended into the first level of the inn, his tan colored boots making no sound on the wooden floors and quickly went out the door and blended into the crowd. He, too, had done this many times over the years, and if he was ever seen by his mother he would, more often than not, just use his favorite phrase: "Sore wa himitsu desu." other wise known, in English, as "That is a secret." Then he would use his magic to get himself out of there as fast as he could. He slowly looked around the market as he walked down the street, taking in the faces of the different people around him. He saw stands for almost anything imaginable. He also passed by an actual store that sold sorcerer's tools. He passed up the temptation of going in, knowing that if he did he may not come out for hours. At least, that was how it used to be at the store in his kingdom of Seriel, but that store was a little bit bigger. Still, he wanted to at least get a vague idea about where everything was before he had to return to the inn for the night. Who knew when he might get a chance after this week to look around the market square?  
  
Suddenly there was a huge explosion that seemed to come from the direction of the castle. He looked over and saw nothing that seemed out of place, and, while they looked over at first, all the people around him just carried on with what they were doing as if this was an everyday occurrence. Xellos just shook his head, he was sure that for a second he felt a huge magical force. If no one else seemed concerned then it was probably his imagination, or the guards here knew some magic and several had gotten together to practice. Still, it was curious.  
  
'Now I'm losing my mind. I could've sworn that that had felt like one person's magic. But that's impossible as the only sorcerer I know that has that kind of power is myself. It probably was just a few people and I couldn't tell because I was far enough away.' Xellos shook his head and continued down the street. He turned down an alley, keen on exploring the back ways of this kingdom.  
  
Suddenly there was a shout from the street he had just left. From what he could tell it seems as though someone had run from the castle and was trying to escape them. He guessed that that might have been the person he had sensed earlier or it might have been the security spells going off. He decided that, if this really was everyday occurrence, he really didn't feel very safe here. He may have magic, but he really couldn't be on his guard all the time.  
  
Xellos was just about to turn the corner and go back into the street from a different entrance than the one he had entered earlier when he felt some thing, or more the like some one, run into him. He fell back in surprise at the same time the smaller person who had run into him did. The person's hat flew off and fell out of either of their reaches. When he looked up, eyes open in surprise, he met the gaze of a pair of bright red eyes in a face that had been shaded by a hat and was surrounded by bright orange hair. 


	3. Meeting

Meeting  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the Slayers characters, just the plot I put them in. I also own Katia and the names of the kingdoms as those are from my own imagination.  
  
AN: I would like to thank the four people who reviewed. I really like to know that people are reading what I write. So thanks to Hanna-chan, Kaeru Shisho, Filing Sloth, and RiNa MeTaLlIuM.  
  
Again I apologize if anyone is OOC, but I have only seen the first and most of the Next series. Also, the reason I'm getting them out so fast is because I'm bored and out of school so I have plenty of free time to write. I also have an easy time writing this. So, don't expect a new chapter or two every day. It depends on how much I have to do that day and if I'm in the mood for writing.  
  
The two people sat on the ground stunned for a moment, until they heard the guards' voices. Lina quickly stood up and looked for her hat, but she didn't see it. Xellos also stood up.  
  
"Excuse me." Lina said, trying to get past the purple-haired man before her.  
  
Xellos stood out of the way then asked, "Why are the castle guards following you?" By the time he finished Lina had run past him.  
  
"If you want to know, follow me!" she called over her shoulder.  
  
Shrugging, Xellos followed. The two reasons were: one, he was curious and two, he didn't really have anything better to do. He raced after the petite red head and followed her down two alleys he had missed on his first time through there. He almost lost her on two crossways, but he managed to spot her bright orange hair. Suddenly she came to a stop and he stopped right behind her.  
  
Lina glanced over her shoulder and saw that the purple-haired man had, indeed, followed her. She was surprised because no one else who had ever asked that question had ever followed her. She opened her mouth to tell him something when she heard the guards. 'Damn, they've gotten even better. Must from the times they have chased me.' She looked around and only saw one passage, but she knew that that one led to a dead end. She was just about to run down there when she heard a familiar voice from her right.  
  
Xellos saw the young woman in front of him about to say something when they both heard the guards behind them. There was only one passage from where they stood and he didn't have quite enough time to cast a levitation spell and get out of sight before the guards came. The girl didn't look like she wanted to go down the passage, but she was just about to when they heard a voice from their right.  
  
"Lina?" a voice said. The voice belonged to a woman standing in front of the doorway to a house. "Hurry in here." The woman motioned Lina into her house.  
  
Lina ran over to her and she let her and, though not without hesitation, the man behind her in. If Lina wasn't running from him then he wasn't one of the guards.  
  
The woman closed the door behind them just as the guards rounded the corner. Xellos heard one of them ask, "Excuse me miss, have you seen a red- head run down this way?"  
  
"Why yes I did. I believe she went that way." Lina peeked out the window with the stranger and saw her point down the alley they had been about to run down.  
  
"Thank you." And with that the guards ran down there and out of sight.  
  
The woman stepped back in side her house and turned to the two people sitting on her floor. Now that they weren't in a hurry to get away from the guards Xellos saw that she had very dark blond, almost light brown, hair that reached about half way down her back and was braided and dark sapphire, almost black, eyes. She appeared to be about his height and wore a pair of loose dark blue pants and a dark blue blouse.  
  
"Thanks Katia," the red head said.  
  
The girl, Katia, nodded at her then turned to Xellos, "Who are you? I'm sure I've never seen you before. And I know everyone here."  
  
"Well, I arrive here from out of town today and I was exploring when this young lady ran me down. When I asked what she was doing she said that if I really wanted to know, to follow her." Katia turned to the red head after Xellos finished. The red head nodded.  
  
"Well, I guess you deserved what you chased this hot head for. First, my name is Katia Shinrai. This is Lina. What is your name?" Katia said.  
  
Xellos noticed that Katia didn't give the red head, Lina's, last name, but he didn't comment. "My name is Xellos, and as I said before I am traveling I had been exploring the city when Lina, quite literally, ran into me."  
  
Katia and Lina both noticed that he didn't give his last name either, but while Lina was about to comment one look from Katia shut her up. Katia knew that if he told them his last name then Lina would have to tell him hers, and Katia knew that she really didn't want to.  
  
"May I ask why Lina here was running from the castle guards?" Xellos said.  
  
Katia said, "I think you may want to sit down on something more comfortable than the floor."  
  
Lina blushed and nodded. Katia led them into a kitchen, which, Xellos noted, also seemed to be made of orihalcon stone. In fact the whole house seemed to be made of the stuff, though it was disguised to look like regular stone. They sat at a wooden table in the middle of the kitchen and Katia went and got her pot of boiling water. It seemed that she had been expecting, at least, Lina's presence. She poured them all a cup of tea. Xellos and Lina could both smell herbs in the tea but couldn't tell which ones.  
  
Katia smirked and said, "The tea has cinnamon, blessed thistle, and bay leaf in it. It's good for you." Xellos nodded and took a sip. It actually didn't taste half bad.  
  
"So," Xellos said his traditional smile growing a little bigger, "now why was Lina here running from the guards?"  
  
"I was trying to get out of the castle." Lina said simply. She really didn't want to go into more detail with this stranger. He seemed nice enough, but that smile of his (^__^) could get a little creepy after a while.  
  
"Now why would you be doing that?" Xellos asked. He was truly curious about the reason why she would be leaving the castle.  
  
"It's none of your business." Lina snapped, her temper getting the better of her.  
  
Xellos's smile suddenly grew imperceptibly bigger. He realized that Lina had a short temper and that that could prove to be very interesting. He just loved it when people responded to his teasing. It was very fun and often very funny, especially if the said person has a short temper.  
  
"I think that the guards just passed outside again. It seems that they decided you used your magic to escape." Katia said. She had gone to the front room and looked out the window while they had been talking.  
  
"You know magic?" Xellos said. 'I may have just found out what that explosion was earlier.'  
  
"Yes, I do." Lina said, glaring at Katia who just grinned right back at her.  
  
"So, did you do that explosion earlier?" Xellos asked.  
  
"Yes." Lina said shortly.  
  
"Well, that just may have been why you were caught." Xellos said.  
  
"Oh shut up. I wasn't caught." Lina said, all the while glaring daggers at Xellos.  
  
"That's what you say. I have a feeling that if Katia hadn't here you would've been caught." Xellos said smiling all the while.  
  
Lina reached across the table and whacked him upside the head. Xellos just grinned in return. He really enjoyed teasing this particular red head, she just responded so strongly.  
  
"Oh, so that means you agree with me?" Xellos said. Lina started to turn red.  
  
"No, I don't. And I suggest you shut up before I hurt you." Lina said. She was seething. She was literally seeing red.  
  
"Now, you wouldn't do that, would you Lina-chan?" Xellos said, grinning broadly.  
  
That did it. Suddenly Lina stood up and began to chant her spell:  
  
"Darkness beyond twilight,  
  
Crimson beyond blood that flows.  
  
Buried in the stream of time,  
  
Is where your power grows.  
  
I pledge myself to conquer  
  
All the foes who stand,  
  
Against the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy hand.  
  
Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed by the power you and I posses!"  
  
Xellos was so stunned for a moment that he didn't react. Luckily Katia expected this kind of thing to happen. She cast a real quick silencing spell and a ward spell. She was doing this during the chant. Right before the last sentence she dragged Xellos to the right.  
  
"DRAGON SLAVE!"  
  
Lina shot her Dragon Slave to where Xellos was just a second ago. The attack created a small dent in the opposite wall. It wasn't any bigger thanks to the fact that Katia is used to such things happening.  
  
"You know Lina, next time you want to Dragon Slave some one, please do it outside my home. The reason it wasn't destroyed it because I have three feet of orihalcon stone for my outer walls and I cast a warding spell. Also, you do know that if I hadn't cast a silencing spell, the explosion would've caused the guard to come running." Katia said, causing Lina to blush in embarrassment.  
  
"And you," she said, turning to Xellos, "please don't provoke her TOO much. Fireballs and the like I can handle, but every time she uses her Dragon Slave I have to repair a portion of my walls." Xellos nodded, noting the use of the word "too." He could still provoke her, just not as much.  
  
Katia ran up her stairs and came down a second later. "You do know that the sun is starting to set right? If you don't want to be missed, I suggest you both get to your homes. We can all meet tomorrow at the sorcerer's shop. You know where that is right?" she directed the last part at Xellos who nodded.  
  
"I'm also a sorcerer so I located it fairly easily." Xellos said.  
  
"Right then, we'll meet there tomorrow one hour after the sun is at it's highest."  
  
Katia took up the three mostly empty cups of cold tea off of the table, all of which had also thankfully been warded. She pushed the two toward the door and outside. She handed Xellos his staff that he had dropped when he had first entered and pushed the two out the door. "Remember Xellos, Lina, tomorrow. One hour after noon. The sorcerer's shop. Bye!" and with that the door closed and the two sorcerers walked back down the alleys.  
  
When Xellos noticed that they were going a different way than the one they had come from he shot a quizzical look at Lina. Lina just said, "This is the short way around I took the other way to lose the guards." Xellos just nodded. Sure enough they reached the entrance to the street a few minutes later.  
  
Xellos turned to Lina and said, "Well then, I'll see you tomorrow Lina-chan." And kissed her on the cheek, causing her to burn a bright red. The last thing he heard as he slipped back into the diminishing crowd, staff in hand, was Lina's enraged shout.  
  
AN: This may have been the longest thing I have ever written. 2013 words total and seven pages according to Microsoft word. Man, that is long for me because I have them be around 1000 words long. 


	4. Day Two, Part One

Day Two, Part One  
  
Disclaimer: None of the Slayers characters belong to me. However, the plot I put them in along with the kingdoms and Lina and Darren do belong to me.  
  
AN: Sorry it took so long, I had a bit of trouble deciding what I wanted to happen to them and then I just got back from Memphis yesterday. We were out of town for four days and I couldn't get onto my computer to write. Well, thanks again to all of those who reviewed, you have no idea what that means to me. It lets me know that someone is actually reading the crap I write. Well, here's the next chapter.  
  
Lina slowly and silently walked out of the castle gates, hoping not to be spotted. After yesterday's chase she didn't think it was a good idea to try and fly herself over the walls, she really didn't want to have another "catch me if you can" game with the guards. They had almost caught her yesterday. And today she had a time to meet Katia and the grinning nut, also known as Xellos. She had never met anyone who smiled so much. And he got onto her nerves like no one else could. She could also tell that enjoyed doing so.  
  
Lina managed to get through the guards without trouble, thankfully, and into the city quickly. She arrived at the "Sorcerer's Supplies" just as the city clock struck the hour. She wasn't surprised to see Katia with her soon-to-be husband waiting in the store. Then she saw Xellos. He had, apparently, entered the store just before she had gotten there as he was just now heading over to the couple.  
  
Xellos had managed to get out the inn quickly as his mother had expected him to be exploring the city anyway. He wore the same style clothes he had yesterday and was, yet again, carrying his staff, his smile fixed on his face as though it were chiseled into a stone slab.  
  
He quickly made his way over to the sorcerer's shop he had seen yesterday and, for the first time, really noticed the name, "Sorcerer's Supplies". Very discreet. He had just entered the shop when the city clock struck the hour. He quickly spotted Katia talking to a guy who seemed about her age and an inch taller, Lina wasn't there yet. 'Too bad. It would've been fun to try and startle her.'  
  
Xellos walked over to the couple and, just as he was about to say hi, the bell on the entrance door chimed. Indicating that another person had entered. It was Lina, and she too was wearing an outfit that was the same style as the one she had worn the day before.  
  
"Hello Lina, Xellos." Katia said. Her sapphire blue eyes were smiling at the both of them.  
  
"Hi." They both replied. Lina walked over to the three of them and smiled.  
  
"Hello to you too, Xellos, Darren." Lina said, nodding first to Xellos, then to the man standing beside Katia. Xellos saw that he had short, light brown hair that framed a face that contained a pair of blue- grey eyes. He was wearing a dark green shirt and black pants. Katia, who stood next to him, was wearing a pair of deep blue pants and a silver-gray blouse.  
  
"Hello to you too, Lina-chan." Xellos said. He loved the way she turned a light pink, out of anger, when he said that. He decided to keep the nickname for her. After all, it did infuriate her so.  
  
"Hello Lina." The man, Darren, said. Then he turned to Xellos, "Hello, my name is Daren Fushichou. You are?"  
  
Xellos replied, "My name is Xellos." Darren nodded. Xellos guessed that he and Katia knew each other and that she had told him about what had happened yesterday.  
  
"What are we doing today?" Lina asked, turning to Darren and Katia.  
  
"I thought you two would like to practice your magic. I know of a field just outside of town where we could practice and not be disturbed." Katia said.  
  
"Why do I get the feeling that that isn't the only reason that all of us are going to practice out there?" Darren asked. Katia just grinned in response.  
  
"Okay, and then we can come back to the town for supper around five or six." Lina said, her mind, as always, on food.  
  
"You always think of food, don't you Lina-chan." Xellos said. He hoped for, and did receive, the light flush on Lina's cheeks in response.  
  
"Will you stop calling me Lina-chan?!?!" Lina almost screamed. The nickname was really trying her nerves. She could actually feel the heat rise to her face out of anger.  
  
"But why Lina-chan? I though that you liked it." Xellos said. It was so fun to try and rile up this young lady. She had such violent reactions, and those reactions always came when he wanted them too. His smile broadened imperceptibly as Lina's face turned a bright red.  
  
"Um, guys? Let's just go." Darren said, hoping to avoid Lina's Dragon Slave. He really didn't want to pay for the damages. Nor did he want Lina to be found. She was, after all, the only one in the kingdom that could do the dragon slave other that Katia, at least as far as he knew. And he couldn't defend himself from it. He could do simple magic, but he was much more skilled with a sword.  
  
"Fine." Lina snapped and then stomped out of the store. Xellos just grinned his maniac's grin and followed her.  
  
Katia shook her head and turned to Darren. "Shall we go. We'll need to be there to stop Lina from killing him."  
  
"You're playing match-maker again, aren't you?" Darren asked her. He knew that grin when he saw it. And it had gotten many of her friends husbands or wives.  
  
"Of course, what else would I be doing?" Katia asked. She just smiled at him.  
  
"I just pray for your sake that Lina doesn't find out. I doubt that she'll be very appreciative of your efforts." Darren warned. "And who knows how that grinning maniac will react. After all, only a maniac would purposefully try and rile up Lina. Especially if what you told me about yesterday is correct. After all, he did see her dragon Slave."  
  
"That's why I think they would make a good couple. He's not at all afraid of her temper, even after he saw what she could do. Now come on, we better hurry and catch up before Lina kills him." And with that Katia dragged Darren out of the store and to the field where they were to practice. 


	5. Day Two, Part Two

Day Two, Part Two  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own the Slayers characters, but I do own the plot I put them in and any of my original names and characters.  
  
AN: Sorry about the long wait. I've been debating putting the fight in here, but I'll have to recheck a lot of the attack names and such. Sorry for all those who wished to see the fight this chapter, but I really wanted to get this out before we go on vacation. I promise I'll try to make it up to you soon. Please read, review, and most of all ENJOY!  
  
Lina and Xellos waited at the edge of the town for Katia and Darren because only those two knew the way to the field that Katia had mentioned. Though that didn't stop Xellos from annoying Lina to no end about the fact.  
  
"So, Lina-chan, why are we waiting for Katia and Darren, don't you know the way?" Xellos said, all the while grinning like a maniac.  
  
"I told you that only Katia and Darren know the way." Lina said, her face turning red. "And STOP CALLING ME LINA-CHAN!"  
  
"But why didn't you ask them? You are they're friend aren't you, Lina- chan?" Xellos asked. He was really enjoying the blush accenting her cheeks. He really thought it made her look cute, but he wouldn't tell her that. In fact he could hardly let himself believe he just thought that. He knew that if he began to like this girl he was going to be in trouble when he finally met his fiancée.  
  
'I won't blow up Xellos because it'll get me caught. I won't blow up Xellos because it will get me caught. I will NOT blow up Xellos because it will get me caught.' Was Lina's silent mantra. She really didn't want to go back to the castle because she was caught while doing magic. "I never really had a reason to before today. I usually practice at Katia house, but since you're here we have to find someplace larger. Now SHUT UP!" Lina snapped.  
  
Xellos's grin grew wider. "Oh Lina-chan, I so glad you care." 'This is so much fun.' Was what Xellos was thinking when he said that. He just couldn't get enough of her temper. Few would react just the way he wanted when he pushed certain buttons. Most people he knew were to use to it and it was harder to rile them up. He doubted that he'd have that problem with this fiery redhead.  
  
"I DON'T CARE!" Lina shouted. And, as fate would have it as fate always does, that was when Katia and Darren walked up.  
  
"Don't care about what Lina?" Katia asked pleasantly. She knew, of course, as you could hear them from fifteen feet away and probably farther. Well, you could hear Lina anyway.  
  
"I don't care about that stupid grinning maniac of a fruitcake!" Lina shouted, turning bright red from anger and...embarrassment..no way. She couldn't be embarrassed because of that fruitcake. She forced the thought out her mind.  
  
Katia and Darren both raised an eyebrow in question at Lina's new dubbing of Xellos.  
  
"Yeah! Lina-chan gave me a nickname, she called me fruitcake!" Xellos said, clearly enjoying the blush decorating Lina's features. He was also really enjoying the murderous look that crossed her features when he had said that.  
  
"Be careful, fruitcake, or else I'll give you more than just a new nickname." Lina growled in warning, her cheeks still a brilliant red.  
  
"Really? What else would you give me Lina-chan?" Xellos asked, his face a mask of pure innocence. Yeah, right.  
  
Lina's face turned so red that it matched her hair. Just as she opened her mouth, probably to shout out the Dragon Slave or Giga Slave spell, Katia slapped a hand over her mouth.  
  
"Perhaps we should get going to the field before Lina kills Xellos. Come on, let's go." Darren said the first part quietly to Katia and the second pat with his voice slightly raised so Lina and Xellos could hear him. Katia released Lina, and she and Darren set off with a grinning Xellos and a really sulking Lina behind them.  
  
They reached a grassy field after about twenty minutes of walking. It was a wide expanse of grassy flatlands, and it was just outside the town's view because of a large hill they had gone over. Katia quickly set up a protection ward around fifty square feet of the field so any misaimed spells would stop at the barrier. She reinforced it twice more just in case Lina decided to try and eradicate Xellos with her Dragon Slave. She really didn't want Lina blowing up even a portion of the town. She did it five times MORE because the thought had occurred to her that Lina just MIGHT try a Giga Slave. What with how much Xellos had been teasing her Katia knew that it was entirely too possible a chance to be ignored.  
  
"Okay, what are the rules for the game?" Katia asked. She looked between the two sorcerers and waited.  
  
"Well, I say we do shamanism and black magic both. We can also do physical fighting if we wish, but no weapons like swords. Is that okay with you fruitcake?" Lina said, decidedly keeping the nickname because it fit his personality perfectly.  
  
"That's okay Lina-chan," Xellos paused, enjoying the blush the nickname produced, and then said, "But let's make it where you can't use any flying magic like levitation. Agreed?"  
  
"Fine." Lina ground out. Xellos dubbing of her was really beginning to ground on her nerves. She also knew that Katia, who was really skilled in all aspects of magic, could heal any damage she, Lina, did to the fruitcake. As skilled as her, though she wouldn't admit it.  
  
"Okay then, sorcerers to the center. You have exactly fifty square feet of enclosed space in which you may fight. If you step out of this space, marked by the energy fields visible to each, then you automatically lose. You have no time limit, but any infraction upon the rules agreed upon by both fighters will result in immediate stopping of the fight. Any damage done to either person can and will be healed by me if you are unable to do so yourself, but only at the end." Katia said. She and Darren stepped just outside of the Energy field which Katia had made visible a few seconds before. Lina and Xellos walked out to the center of the enclosed space.  
  
"Fighters ready! GO!" Darren shouted from outside the field.  
  
AN: Sorry for the cliffhanger. Like I said up top, I just really didn't know exactly how to write the fight scene and I wanted to get this out before we go on vacation from the 8th to the 11th and then again from the 19th to the 26th. As you can guess we'll be gone quite a lot soon. 


	6. Author's Note

Sorry to all those who hoped that this was an update, but I'm stuck on this story. I would love it if you could please give me ideas. I'll credit those ideas to whomever sent them, I promise. I just REALLY need SOME kind of help. Please. I promise though that I have not given up on this story. I just really need help. 


	7. Duel

Duel  
  
AN: I know I haven't updated this in a long time, but I recently got my inspiration back because I finally got the end of the Next series and the first of the Try. This got me to watching them again which gave me new inspiration. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Slayers, but I do own any characters you don't recognize from the series.  
  
And this chapter is dedicated to Tenma Koneko who gave me the idea for this chapter. Thank you so much.  
  
Please read and review.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Lina and Xellos stood in the middle of the field, silent, for a moment before Lina got frustrated and started the attack.  
  
"Elmekia Lance!" she shouted, quickly forming the attack and shooting it at Xellos, who dodged out of the way.  
  
"Ah, ah, ah Lina-chan, you'll have to do better than that," Xellos said, enjoying the flush that spread over Lina's cheeks.  
  
"Shut up FRUITCAKE! Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!" Lina shouted, shooting three attacks quickly. Xellos managed to dodge them all. Suddenly Xellos closed in on Lina, deciding to do a little hand-to-hand fighting before using magic attacks.  
  
Lina took a step back as Xellos closed in and quickly she blocked a punch to her stomach. She returned it with a punch to Xellos's head. Xellos ducked and moved to sweep Lina's feet out from under her. Lina jumped backwards over Xellos's leg and did a quick back flip to put some distance between them. Fighting hand-to-hand really wasn't her strong point.  
  
'She's pretty good,' Xellos thought. Then his grin yet again grew slightly. 'Let's see what she does when she's riled up and fighting. Maybe I can get her to flush the same color as her hair again.'  
  
"Lina-chan, is that all you can do? After the Dragon Slave over at Katia's house I expected much more. Are you sure that wasn't just a fluke?" Xellos said, well aware that it wasn't and exactly how much his words were irritating the red-haired sorceress.  
  
"Fluke?! FLUKE?! I'LL SHOW YOU A FLUKE YOU FRUITCAKE!!" Lina shouted, flushing bright red in anger not only at the nickname but also at the jab to her magical abilities. A voice inside her was telling her that this was exactly the reaction Xellos wanted, but she ignored that voice in favor of being mad at the purple-haired sorcerer.  
  
"FIREBALL!! FIREBALL!! FIREBALL!! FIREBALL!! FIREBALL!! FIREBALL!!" Lina shouted, her anger further fueling her attack. Xellos managed to get away, though his clothes did get a little singed at the end from all the fire from the six fireballs Lina just shot out.  
  
"Ah, Lina-chan, that wasn't any better at all. And really, I did expect more from you," Xellos said. Personally, he was really enjoying the flush that was now covering Lina's entire face. He knew he really shouldn't considering he was supposed to be engaged, but he really enjoyed ticking this girl off than he had anyone else he'd ever met.  
  
"I'll show you," Lina said before gathering energy and starting the incantation for one of her favorite attacks.  
  
"Darkness beyond twilight,  
  
Crimson beyond blood that flows.  
  
Buried in the stream of time  
  
Is where your power grows.  
  
I pledge myself to conquer  
  
All the foes who stand,  
  
Against the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy hand.  
  
Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed by the power you and I possess.  
  
DRAGON SLAVE!!!!"  
  
Xellos, having expected this attack, dodged it slightly, but made it look like he had gotten hit. He was about to put on the performance of a lifetime. He quickly fell back onto the ground as if he'd been hit full on and injured.  
  
Darren, seeing Xellos fall, turned to Katia to see if she would stop the fight. To his surprise she had a small, amused smile on her face.  
  
"Kat, Xellos is hurt. Shouldn't you stop the fight so you can heal him?" Darren asked, wondering what his fiancée was thinking. Despite how well he knew her, he could never always guess her thoughts.  
  
"I'm not because Xellos isn't actually hurt, though the stunt I'm guessing he's about to play is likely to get him hurt. Just watch," Katia said and Darren did just that. They watched as Lina ran over to Xellos, worried.  
  
Lina, after firing the Dragon Slave, waited for Xellos's next comment. When it didn't come she was a little concerned. 'I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. He must've dodged it. He's fine.'  
  
However when the dust cleared and she saw Xellos on the ground she rushed over and knelt beside him, taking his head in her lap. At this moment she wasn't really thinking about the position she was in.  
  
"Xellos," she said, "Xellos are you okay? Come on, wake-up Xellos."  
  
"Lina-chan," Xellos said, pretending to be half unconscious.  
  
"Yes, Xellos?" Lina said, leaning forward slightly so she could hear him better.  
  
"I need...I need..." Xellos trailed off, pretending he couldn't finish the sentence. He knew he was likely to get severely hurt if not killed for his next words, but he couldn't help but want to see the reaction.  
  
"What is it?" Lina said, now more worried than ever. Where was Katia? Why wasn't she coming down to heal Xellos?  
  
Xellos mumbled his next words, wanting to get the red head's curiosity up. It evidently worked because she leaned closer and asked him what he said. He repeated, "A kiss."  
  
It took a moment for the words to catch up with her mind, but when they did she turned beat red before she looked down at Xellos and saw the grin on his face (^__^). She stood up, her left eye twitching in irritation.  
  
"YOU JACKASS!" she shouted, "I WAS WORRIED ABOUT YOU! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID SOMEHTHING LIKE THAT! I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU!" Then she picked Xellos up bodily and threw him away from her. Before he could properly regain his balance she started the spell again.  
  
"Darkness beyond twilight,  
  
Crimson beyond blood that flows.  
  
Buried in the stream of time  
  
Is where your power grows.  
  
I pledge myself to conquer  
  
All the foes who stand,  
  
Against the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy hand.  
  
Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed by the power you and I possess.  
  
DRAGON SLAVE!!!!"  
  
The attack hit Xellos right as he managed to get his balance back. This gave him enough time to erect a quick shield. It didn't last for long, though, and soon the blast got through and hit him, leaving him unconscious for real this time.  
  
Lina fought to catch her breath after her attack. She was also currently glaring at the dust, fighting back the stab of guilt she felt when she realized what she'd just done. 'But I'm sure he could've dodged it. He dodged every other one of my attacks. He must have. He's probably playing dead again.'  
  
"Come on Xellos, once was bad enough. Don't pull the same stunt twice," Lina said, then frowned when there was no reply. "Come on Xellos, as much as it wasn't funny the first time, it's even less funny now. Xellos?"  
  
Suddenly Lina felt Katia protective barrier dissolve and looked in her direction and saw her and Darren running down the hill toward the place that Xellos was at last. Looking in that direct, Lina saw what the smoke had previously hid. Xellos was lying on the ground, and if Katia was rushing out this time when she hadn't last time that meant that he probably was hurt this time. She quickly ran over to him, worried yet again.  
  
She arrived about the same time Katia did. She looked at the other sorceress, wondering about what had happened to him. Katia kneeled down beside Xellos and placed her hands over his chest. Darren and Lina saw her hands glow for a moment before Katia smiled.  
  
"How is he?" Lina asked, not bothering to hide how worried she was.  
  
"He's fine, just knocked out from the blast is all. He probably had a shield up so he only got hit by the tail end of the blast," Katia said, smiling up at the shorter girl. "Let's get him to my house. Darren?"  
  
Darren bent down and picked Xellos up, and the three of them headed out. Katia made sure to use a lot of the back routes to her house. It helped that her house was relatively secluded anyway, but she really didn't want anyone to see her and Lina with someone who was carrying an unconscious young man. That would've been hard to explain.  
  
When they got to her house she opened the door and instructed Darren to place Xellos on the spare cot she kept in the living room. Katia smiled gently when she saw how worried Lina was, especially when the red-eyed sorceress sat down beside Xellos's cot. Suddenly she heard the town bell strike the hour.  
  
'It's six o'clock. Lina had better get home before she's missed,' Katia thought, not really wanting her friend to get into trouble for being missed.  
  
"Darren, hon, I think it's about time for you to go home. You know, before you're missed by your roommates," Katia said. She threw a pointed look at Lina's back when she saw Darren open his mouth to object. Looking at Lina he understood that Katia wanted to have a private talk with the sorceress and then try and convince the petite girl to go back to her house before she's missed and the guards are sent out to look for her. Nodding, Darren kissed her quickly before heading out the door. Once he was gone Katia turned to her friend.  
  
"You're worried about him, aren't you?" she asked, sitting down beside the younger girl.  
  
"Of course I am, I mean, I am the one who hit him with a Dragon Slave," Lina said, putting on her normal, careless smile.  
  
"No, I mean, more than you would be about most people," Katia said, pushing a loose strand of dark blond hair out of her face.  
  
Lina looked down and said, "I don't know what you mean." Lina did, in fact, know what Katia meant. Despite, or maybe because of, the way he irritated her, Lina had gotten to like Xellos, and from what she could tell this was stronger than what she felt for Katia or Darren. The problem was that she was already supposed to be engaged, though not willingly.  
  
"I think you do, but why are you so hesitant about it?" Katia said. The engagement between Lina and the prince from Terrian was still a secret to everyone but the two families involved. It was to be announced at the ball on Lina's sixteenth birthday.  
  
"I can't act on it. No one but our families knows yet, but I'm supposed to be engaged to the visiting prince from Terrian, who, by the way, I still haven't met. My parents arranged the marriage and I'm supposed to meet him in another five days, on my sixteenth birthday. We're supposed to discuss wedding plans then," Lina said, looking down at the purple-haired sorcerer. There was silence for a moment as Katia absorbed what she'd just been told.  
  
"I'm sorry about that," she said and wrapped the other girl in a short hug before pulling back and looking into her eyes. "As much as I know you want to stay, and as much as I'd rather have you stay, you'd better get home before your parents notice you're missing and send out the guards to look for you," she said and Lina nodded in agreement.  
  
"Why don't you come by my house tomorrow around lunch time. I'll treat and update you on Xellos. I'll ask him to join us when he wakes up, okay," Katia said.  
  
"Okay, see you tomorrow," Lina said, a little relieved that she'd have a reason to check that he was okay tomorrow. She slowly headed home, thinking about her situation the whole way.  
  
Katia, meanwhile, was still sitting beside Xellos. When she noticed him starting to stir about half an hour later she quickly went into her kitchen to grab a glass of water and came back. Deciding to check to make sure he didn't have a concussion or something, she asked him a few simple questions. She started with the most obvious, "What's you're name and where are you from?"  
  
Xellos, still half unconscious, answered without thinking, "Xellos Metallium of the kingdom of Terrian," before his situation caught up with him and he mentally cursed himself out.  
  
Katia, for her part, was at first shocked and then severely amused. "As in Xellos Metallium, the visiting prince from Terrain," she said, confirming her information. "Well, isn't that interesting."  
  
"Don't tell anyone," Xellos said, sitting up quickly. He really didn't want to have to stop visiting because word got around about what the prince was doing during the day.  
  
"Don't worry, I won't. I was just surprised. I mean, how often do you see a person of royalty running around pretending to be something they're not," Katia said, her amusement at the irony of that statement well hidden. She saw that very situation quite often.  
  
"Well, I suggest you get home before your mother send out guards to look for you," Katia said, having a very strong sense of déjà vu.  
  
Xellos nodded and headed out the door.  
  
Once Xellos was gone Katia collapsed back onto the couch. 'Oh gods, things just got a lot more complicated. The good thing is that I at least have all the keys. This should be fun.'  
  
AN: Please review. I appreciate any comments and criticisms. And I am still accepting any and all ideas you may come up with. Thank you all! 


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